There's been a raft of good news from the Telecommunications Forum (TCF) in its latest update, as Northland and Coromandel are “well on the road to full recovery” with most cell sites now operational via generators.
An 800-metre fibre overlay has been completed to address a “significant break” near the Hikuwai Bridge.
A digger has been sent to clear out a landslip that has covered the northernmost fault, which should be resolved some time today.
The remaining faults on this cable “span a large, complex gorge section with significant road damage”, and a helicopter and specialist crew have been sent to lay a three-kilometre fibre cable.
“As you can imagine, there are significant logistics involved in ensuring all requisite resources are on-site and available to the teams, and safety is our number one priority,” TCF chief executive Paul Brislen said in the update,
Mobile connectivity is returning all around the impacted regions as generators are landing and getting set up, but the fibre faults continue to present issues in the Gisborne area.
2degrees wanted to remind people to use wifi calling to make calls if they don’t have mobile network access but do have wifi internet.
Brislen added that the telco sector “would also like to thank our partners who are pulling out all the stops to help us support activity in the region", naming Heletranz and Entelar, Skyworks, SunAir Downers, Optus and Nokia,
